The New London Heritage Historical Society was founded in 1977, by a group of area citizens concerned by the demolition of several local historical sites. Among the group were Leona Mech, Patricia McCoy, Carol Culver, Eleanore Cooney, and Jean Trauger. They wanted to make sure that the history of New London was preserved.

The Octagon House, located out by Hillshire, had been vandalized and over the years other significant buildings such as the Grand Hotel and Hatten Mill were lost. With the donation of land, much work, and many volunteer hours, the NLHHS village was born. The first building to be moved in 1987, was the depot. In 1989 the Octagon House was moved, and the one room schoolhouse following shortly after in 1990. In the years that followed the village expanded with a log cabin, chapel, Simmons Garage, and a collection of rolling stock and railroad memorabilia.

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In 2016, the NLHHS received a significant donation of Thern Farm from Sandra 'Thern" Fuller. This donation included a farmhouse, barn and silo, milk house, pig pen/chicken coop, machine shed, smoke house, outhouse, and workshop located on 30+ acres. With it's history as the site of the New London Fair and 100+ years of Thern family ownership, it is a historic New London treasure.

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New London Heritage Historical Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing artifacts and information relating to the history of the New London area.​ The NLHHS maintains a collection of 14 buildings split between two locations within the city of New London; six buildings at the Historical Village and eight buildings at Thern Farm.